Hong Kong lawmaker Albert Ho (above) has apologised after he was photographed looking at scantily-dressed pictures of models on his tablet computer during a budget speech at the Chinese city's parliament. -- ST FILE PHOTO: LI XUEYING

HONG KONG (AFP) - An embarrassed Hong Kong lawmaker has apologised after he was photographed looking at scantily-dressed pictures of models on his tablet computer during a Budget speech at the Chinese city's parliament.

Pro-democracy politician Albert Ho was snapped flipping through multiple photos of bikini-clad ladies while finance secretary John Tsang delivered a one-and-a-half-hour long Budget speech on Wednesday.

"It just so happened that at that time, I casually saw the photos," said Mr Ho, who failed in a bid to become Hong Kong's leader in 2012.

"I have learnt a lesson, I should not commit such a mistake again," he told reporters on Wednesday, adding that he had apologised for the incident.